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CARY, N.C., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- We know him from his days competing for American Idol crown, but Clay Aiken wants the world -- or at least one part of North Carolina -- to know he's more than just a singer. Aiken, who is from Raleigh, released a video Wednesday officially announcing his candidacy to run for Congress in the 2nd congressional district, confirming weeks of speculation that he would throw his hat in the ring against sitting Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers.
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The deeply personal video touches on his work as a special education teacher and his two years serving on the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, a position he was appointed to by former President George W. Bush.
"That was when I first realized that our problems won't be solved by only one party or the other," Aiken says.
Aiken criticized Ellmers' tenure in Congress, accusing the two-term Republican of choosing to toe the party line over what her constituents wanted.
He said he "is not a politician, and I don't ever want to be one," but that that's a good thing.
The Democratic primary is May 6, and Aiken will face at least Keith Criscoe, a former state Commerce secretary, and the winner of the primary will take on Ellmers in November.
